Resources to Help Your Startup During COVID-19
There is no doubt that we already hit financial crisis.
COVID-19 has changed the dynamics of economy all over the world and definitely will change the world as we know it.
People are mostly working from home and also many startups has hit with the impact as well. Many businesses start to lay off their workers and many are in uncertainty state as things are changing.
I personally believe that COVID-19 is a great test for all of us. Those ones that are prepared, will actually win. For those ones that are not prepared, things will be very hard.
While I cannot change the macro environment, I can help you navigate through noise and start meaningful conversation to hunt net new business and yet again grow!
Given the time that we are in, opportunity will be hard to get, but nothing is impossible.
Target financially solid businesses to win net new customers
I will go and look for those businesses that are financially secure and in a strong position. Businesses and startups that recently raised funds (from 3 months ago). YOu can easily get these list from here. These are enterprise businesses who raised money recently and in a great position to target new growth measures.
Another space, will be tech companies. Obviously, my target audience are in tech B2B space, so this is no brainer. But just an emphasize that IoT, Data Analytics, Blockchain and AI are very hot topics and businesses in these spaces are showing more growth potential. So lets target them from here.
The point here is many other businesses do the same and target all these guys. So you need to make sure that you are unique in your approach and memorable when it comes to your intro.
Raise fund
Another way to grow your startup is always to raise funds. Now, there are lot of news out there that VCs are not investing on new startups anymore. If I put myself in the investor shoes, I am always to search for new opportunities that can make more more money. So, if you have a working idea and the business is showing potential, don’t afraid to look for investment.
You can reach out to investors on social media, or those investors who invested on startups in the last 3 months.
Follow news
Plus, there are lots of resources that you can get updates on your targeted companies in case they make changes. Such as hiring / firing new people, launching new products, restructure etc.
Crunchbase is a good starting point. I personally use AngelList as well. These two platforms give you latest info and update on the private companies and also company specific news as well.
Study financial crisis patterns
Another topic that also is interesting is the patterns when financial crisis happens. The most recent one as GFC (Global Financial Crisis) in 2008, showed a lot of similarities with this one. Again, it worth to go through the stories of previous crisis as well to be more informed and how to recover when the time has come.
Here is a good read for start.
Adapt to the new reality
For your sales and marketing team, unfortunately this is the new reality. Everything is now remote. Here is my thoughts on the opportunity that comes with Work From Home and Remote Work.
Here is a 1-month marketing plan that can generate up to 70 net new registrations for your startup during this hard times.
And also, here is an article on how your sales team can adapt to the COVID-19 situation and outbreak as well.
Ping me if you need help to adjust your marketing and sales strategy. I am happy to help.
